Google Play Books

Paper books are great, sure, but they're so 20th century. If you've yet to try reading on a tablet (or, if you must, a smartphone), it's time. And Google has you covered with Google Play Books.

There's not much that's surprising here. Google has a store for books. And it gives you an app on which to read them. (Or, if you prefer, you can read in a web browser.) And you get all the bells and whistles you'd expect. New York Times Bestsellers. Textbooks. And, for some classics, you get them for free. You can read offline, adjust font size and switch from day to night mode. Or, if you want, you can upload your own PDFs or EPUB files to your library. You can take notes, bookmark your position — and it's all synced across your devices, through your Google account.

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All Google Play Books

The last major bookstore chain wants to be all things to all people, but it turns out that's not easy to do.
It's not uncommon to hear someone refer to their ereader app as being a bookstore on their phone or tablet, but the folks at Barnes & Noble get about as close as you can towards...

Amazon has built an empire, a big part of which is giving you everything you need to never want to leave.
The original Kindle experience was the spark that took ebooks from a cool thing that one friend of yours did to make all of their books digital to a global phenomenon that has threatened...

Choosing an ebook retailer can be as simple as choosing what is right in front of you or checking the prices and content selection across the ecosystem. It's up to you.
One of the amazing things about ebooks right now is the wealth of options available to users. Massive ebook libraries now exist...

Smartphones and tablets have become the default browsing and quick-read device for many people, but diving into entire books is often another matter entirely.
Much in the same way the best camera is the one you have with you at all times, if you're a constant reader the thing you're most likely...

Bibliophiles are understandably going a bit nuts today as publisher HarperCollins announced that a new novel by Harper Lee — Go Set a Watchman — is to be published on July 14. Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is largely considered to be one of the best novels ever written. But until today it was...

Google will release a new update to its Google Play Books app later today that will offer users some new ways to quickly skim and browse inside ebooks, especially those of the nonfiction variety.
Google states:
Imagine you're cooking two recipes from the same cookbook— roast chicken and...

Google Play Books is now available in four more countries, expanding today to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine. Google Play users in these four countries can now browse, buy and read books downloaded from the Play Store on their phones and tablets, joining up a whole host of countries — 58...

Google Shopping Express is adding to its list of retailers to include Barnes & Noble, expanding into an important segment of the online shopping market — books. Barnes & Noble joins a handful of big Shopping Express partners, including Target, Walgreens, Costco and Staples. In contrast to...

Google Play Books makes it easy to save books to your device, as well as remove and delete them
As the name suggests, Google Play Books lets you purchase and read books on your Android device. In the sense that it turns your device into an eReader, you might say it's similar to a Kindle or a...

Google has just expanded content offerings for Books and Movies to dozens of new countries today. For Google Play Books, it's 11 new countries, and for Google Play Movies, it's a whopping 21 new countries. There are still plenty more countries for the content to be expanded to, but it's always...

Dubbed the Netflix for books, Oyster is finally launching on Android after an iOS debut bringing with it an all-you-can-read subscription model. Voracious readers can subscribe to the service for $10 per month and read all the books that they want, including popular titles and new releases....

Google Play Books can make any Android device a great eReader, but how do you use it?
Sure, Kindles and Nooks have (relatively) long been forces to reckon with in the digital book arena, but Google Play Books allows you to enjoy your favorite page turners on so many more Android devices.
But...

PDF and ePub files can be shared to Google Play Books using the Android intents system
Google Play Books is getting a nifty little update. The app has the same look and feel, but performance tweaks and new sharing features make for a worthwhile upgrade.
For starters, things have been tweaked to...

Google's book store now available in 44 countries around the world
Google Play Books is expanding to five new countries starting today. If you're in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru or Venezuela, you'll now have access to the Google Play Books ecosystem, bringing the total number of countries up...

Bulk up your digital book library on the cheap
Google Play is kicking off a big sale of books, putting over 100 bestselling titles on sale up to 75 percent off. Usually you expect to see lesser-known or old titles on sale at this time of year trying to capitalize on folks who are in the buying...

Read award winning titles in Google Play Books on your HD Android tablet or phone
Publisher Image Comics has brought their library single edition and series comics to Google Play Books. Titles you know and love, like Saga and The Walking Dead (yes, it started as a comic) are now found right in...

Total number of countries with access to Play Books reaches 36 worldwide
Google is expanding the availability of Google Play Books today to New Zealand and several new countries across Asia. Taking the total number of countries up to 36, these nine new countries now have access to one of the...

Purchase or rent textbooks for a fraction of the paperback cost.
About a month before most college kids get ready to start making book purchases and head into class, Google has flipped the switch on digital textbook rentals in Google Play. Announced back in July alongside Android 4.3 and the new...

We're live in San Francisco with Google, where they have just announced a new category for Google Play Books; Textbooks. Google is promising a wide range of textbooks across differing publishers with different pricing structures available to students.
Textbooks can be purchased as any other book...

Thousands of titles, both new and old, are now available for reading on your Android, iOS device and the web across Europe.
We've been getting reports of Google Play Books showing up on phones and tablets in new countries across Europe since the beginning of the week, and today Google has made...

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Reader comments

Google Play Books

I am very angry over the inexplicable disappearance of my purchased book from google play books! I have had difficulties with many google apps since my ISP changed over to gmail driven email services creating conflict with my 14 year old standing acct name & the gmail acct I already had obtained after I purchased my android HTC one n 2009. I haven't been able to get any assistance from my local ISP nor can I find a way to resolve through Google. Anyone have suggestions?